Emosensory Competence, as an Undisclosed Construct of Communicative Competence, Predicts L۲ Speaking Ability

Given the undeniable significance of communication in language education, different models have been proposed to render communicative competence (CC) and its constructs. However, there seems to be an undisclosed construct which considers individuals’ real-world knowledge and sensory experiences essential in initiating and maintaining communication. To have an update on the existing models, this study introduces the emosensory account to the underlying competence of CC. Specifically, the study pursued to, first, develop and substantiate the emosensory competence (ESC) questionnaire and, then, to investigate the extent to which ESC predicts L۲ speaking ability. To this end, ۲۵۴ EFL learners filled out the ESC questionnaire in phase ۱. In phase ۲, the degree of ESC of ۱۸۴ participants was analyzed in relation to their IELTS speaking scores. Results revealed that the ESC questionnaire enjoys psychometric properties and that, unlike socioemotional and sensory domains, cognitive topics are negative predictors of L۲ speaking ability.